Things have been up and down lately. Just had a recent incident where Regal was beginning to drop weight and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why!! I was loading him up on grain and supplements, I even quit riding him in an effort to let him hang on to all of his calories. A call to the owner of the facility set me straight on why he has been dropping weight...he has been recieving half of what he should be getting for hay!! OUTRAGE!!!!! Needless to say that got set straight. Regal is a fair sized thoroughbred and I do usually ride him 5 to 6 days a week; he needs 2 flakes am and pm, of which he was only getting 1 am and pm. No wonder my poor boy was so hungry :( It bums me out so much, I wish I could have my own facility or a way to keep Regal at home. I swear I was more competant around horses at age 12 than some adults are. No wonder there are so many rescue and neglect cases in the world, people should have to pass a test or something before owning animals.
Anyways, that is in the past and Regal is already looking better, I know him so well I caught everything before he lost major weight.
Other news, Regal and I went for an amazing ride a few weeks ago that gave me hope that maybe some small endurance rides could be in our future!! He was just such a natural out there, and loved the open trail-which makes sense because it probably reminds him of cross country, his favorite phase. I was so happy that I could just let Regal go and trust him out there, and he had a great time :)
It is currently raining, and there isn't much else to talk about. I spent the last week and a half just hand feeding Regal his grain, grooming him, and letting him out for turn out time. Now that he has put some weight back on his vacation is over ;) Hopefully I'll have something new and exciting to post soon!!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wierd Weather and Slow Days...
I sit here on the eve of June 2011 and am amazed by two things: one, that there are dark, formidable clouds overhead, and I am crossing my fingers that summer finally stays, and two, how quickly time is passing and how often things change. I can't help that the desire to compete is still there, or that I still wistfully stalk eventing nation and the USEA website and look at the events I would be attending. But I am happy. Regal is looking fatter than he has all year, and that is actually a really good thing!! If you only knew the struggle to keep weight on this horse...haha. I think Regal is happy, and that is my main concern. He has felt fabulous under saddle lately.
Since there aren't any jumps at our new place, I've decided (well, been forced haha) to focus more on dressage. I actually don't mind this at all, and I'm hoping that I can actually take a few dressage lessons here and there and perhaps hit a few dressage shows this summer. Regal's movement has been so amazing lately, I literally almost can't ride it! I'm a bit out of shape, I will admit, but I'm working on it ;) Regal has just been so excited to go to work every day, he begs to leave his stall, grabs the bit when I hold it out for him, and wants to go to work. The first day I went back to my serious sitting trot work, I think my whole body cramped :( We have also been spending some time trying to get off the property. We made it to the trails once so far, and Regal had a blast, but was quite confused as to where all the obstacles were! I found a nice little hill to let him gallop on, and I could tell he was pretty happy to get to stretch his legs. We take little daily outing down the road by our facility, and Regal is just happy as can be, wandering along with his ears perked up, trying to stop and eat grass like a sour trail horse!!
I'm waiting for Regal to get his feet done before I resume any serious work with him, and I'm trying to set some goals for us this summer so I have something to work towards!! Always looking to the future and keeping it positive :)
Since there aren't any jumps at our new place, I've decided (well, been forced haha) to focus more on dressage. I actually don't mind this at all, and I'm hoping that I can actually take a few dressage lessons here and there and perhaps hit a few dressage shows this summer. Regal's movement has been so amazing lately, I literally almost can't ride it! I'm a bit out of shape, I will admit, but I'm working on it ;) Regal has just been so excited to go to work every day, he begs to leave his stall, grabs the bit when I hold it out for him, and wants to go to work. The first day I went back to my serious sitting trot work, I think my whole body cramped :( We have also been spending some time trying to get off the property. We made it to the trails once so far, and Regal had a blast, but was quite confused as to where all the obstacles were! I found a nice little hill to let him gallop on, and I could tell he was pretty happy to get to stretch his legs. We take little daily outing down the road by our facility, and Regal is just happy as can be, wandering along with his ears perked up, trying to stop and eat grass like a sour trail horse!!
I'm waiting for Regal to get his feet done before I resume any serious work with him, and I'm trying to set some goals for us this summer so I have something to work towards!! Always looking to the future and keeping it positive :)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Roll With the Punches...
Holy moley! It has been a while...I don't even know where to begin. Ok....
Though Regal and I had an amazing opportunity with one of the best riders and trainers that I know, no matter how hard I worked I just can't support the eventing lifestyle at this point in my life. I have spent the last little chunk of time feeling a bit shattered into a million pieces, even putting Regal up for sale for a brief period of time. In my heart though, I think I knew I could never part with my dear friend. It's difficult wanting something so badly. But I ain't no quitter!! Believe you me, Regal and I may be sidelined for now, but we'll be back ;) eventing is a bug I can't shake, and for some insane reason I really feel like Regal is a special horse. Even if all he ever did his whole life was simply perk up his ears and be excited to see me when I call his name every day, that would be enough. If all he did was put his head down in my arms and let me kiss his nose day in and day out, that would be alright too. Because when I see the way Regal looks at me I see love and devotion and loyalty, I realize that is hard to come by in this world. But besides all that...I still think he's going to make a wicked eventer!!!
I remain friends with my trainer, and can't wait for the day to resume training with her!! I moved Regal to a place thats a bit more affordable, where I can still keep up the training I have, and luckily its close to trails so I can condition. The only real bummer is the lack of jumps!! I managed to put together a freaky corner jump out of three old barrels and two wooden poles I found on the property. When I put the barrels upright and camp one of them out, its a pretty sick corner!! But besides that....reeeaaallllyyyy dying for an actual course and some air time. Regal is already bored with my one contraption I made. I'm already planning a trip to Home Depot and have been Googling how to make jumps haha :)
If there's one thing in life I've really learned so far in my 22 years....don't let anything get you down!! Sure I'm bummed out, incredibly. I want to compete so bad it drives me crazy. But I have to take life one step at a time and do what I can. I follow the advice of one of my all-time favorite quotes..."it takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan"...so I don't waste my time wishing good things would happen to me....I plan for them to!!
Though Regal and I had an amazing opportunity with one of the best riders and trainers that I know, no matter how hard I worked I just can't support the eventing lifestyle at this point in my life. I have spent the last little chunk of time feeling a bit shattered into a million pieces, even putting Regal up for sale for a brief period of time. In my heart though, I think I knew I could never part with my dear friend. It's difficult wanting something so badly. But I ain't no quitter!! Believe you me, Regal and I may be sidelined for now, but we'll be back ;) eventing is a bug I can't shake, and for some insane reason I really feel like Regal is a special horse. Even if all he ever did his whole life was simply perk up his ears and be excited to see me when I call his name every day, that would be enough. If all he did was put his head down in my arms and let me kiss his nose day in and day out, that would be alright too. Because when I see the way Regal looks at me I see love and devotion and loyalty, I realize that is hard to come by in this world. But besides all that...I still think he's going to make a wicked eventer!!!
I remain friends with my trainer, and can't wait for the day to resume training with her!! I moved Regal to a place thats a bit more affordable, where I can still keep up the training I have, and luckily its close to trails so I can condition. The only real bummer is the lack of jumps!! I managed to put together a freaky corner jump out of three old barrels and two wooden poles I found on the property. When I put the barrels upright and camp one of them out, its a pretty sick corner!! But besides that....reeeaaallllyyyy dying for an actual course and some air time. Regal is already bored with my one contraption I made. I'm already planning a trip to Home Depot and have been Googling how to make jumps haha :)
If there's one thing in life I've really learned so far in my 22 years....don't let anything get you down!! Sure I'm bummed out, incredibly. I want to compete so bad it drives me crazy. But I have to take life one step at a time and do what I can. I follow the advice of one of my all-time favorite quotes..."it takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan"...so I don't waste my time wishing good things would happen to me....I plan for them to!!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Lots Happening!
Wow, well Ram Tap was...interesting. Rain bogged down all the footing, and mud did not help Regal and my performance!! He was gorgeous in dressage despite the sloppy footing, which I can tell is not his favorite. Stadium was a disaster. Hands down the worst course we've had, but I learned a lot. We had refusals and rails and time...you name it we had it. Ick. Cross country the next day was double clear and reminded me why I remain in this sport!!
Just got back from a weekend at Twin Rivers, and overall it went well!! I was bummed with our dressage performance; it wasn't the best we could do. But for whatever reason that day Regal and I were not in sync and something was clashing. I could tell he was irritated and distracted, and not as supple and forward as he should have been. Some days you have it and some days you don't. Stadium was a slight improvement. I feel like there were amazing moments durning the course, and I can tell we are slowly getting the feel of how it should be. Regardless we still had faults. Once again, cross country was our saving grace :) Twin made for our third double clear xc round in a row!! It had started to rain a little during our course, and on our third to last fence, a log into water, Regal slipped and lost his hind end a bit, I lost my stirrups, we had to circle to get a good approach to the fence and we still came in slightly under optimum time haha...quite an accomplishment considering how far behind time we were just last September!!
Though sometimes it feels like the improvements take forever, I can tell they are happening. It would be nice if everything happened over night, but one of these days it is going to feel so good to have that clear round and know Regal and I totally deserved it :)
Just got back from a weekend at Twin Rivers, and overall it went well!! I was bummed with our dressage performance; it wasn't the best we could do. But for whatever reason that day Regal and I were not in sync and something was clashing. I could tell he was irritated and distracted, and not as supple and forward as he should have been. Some days you have it and some days you don't. Stadium was a slight improvement. I feel like there were amazing moments durning the course, and I can tell we are slowly getting the feel of how it should be. Regardless we still had faults. Once again, cross country was our saving grace :) Twin made for our third double clear xc round in a row!! It had started to rain a little during our course, and on our third to last fence, a log into water, Regal slipped and lost his hind end a bit, I lost my stirrups, we had to circle to get a good approach to the fence and we still came in slightly under optimum time haha...quite an accomplishment considering how far behind time we were just last September!!
Though sometimes it feels like the improvements take forever, I can tell they are happening. It would be nice if everything happened over night, but one of these days it is going to feel so good to have that clear round and know Regal and I totally deserved it :)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Time Flies!
Hello blog, it has been a while!! What a winter...and it isn't even over yet :( boo to rain!! Regal and I are still pushing on in our training, and improving by leaps and bounds!!
We have already kicked off the event season at Galway Downs at the beginning of February, and I can tell we've improved. He is just beginning to act like such a grown-up at the events! All of our warm-ups were great, dressage went well with room for improvement but no blaring flaws. Our cross country round was the best round we've ever had out there. I almost felt like I was on a packer, and I might have been a little on my game that day as well ;) haha. I really felt like we didn't miss once on course, which is an unusal feeling for me, I guess Regal isn't a total green pea anymore!! No hesitation at water, and under time...double clear!! Unfortunetly the missing link has turned into stadium for us. We are on the way to correcting it, but we took a few rails which knocked us from ending up in 2nd to ending in 8th. We're learning though, and I can't wait to see where this season takes us!!
Regal and I are heading to Ram Tap this weekend, fingers crossed!!
We have already kicked off the event season at Galway Downs at the beginning of February, and I can tell we've improved. He is just beginning to act like such a grown-up at the events! All of our warm-ups were great, dressage went well with room for improvement but no blaring flaws. Our cross country round was the best round we've ever had out there. I almost felt like I was on a packer, and I might have been a little on my game that day as well ;) haha. I really felt like we didn't miss once on course, which is an unusal feeling for me, I guess Regal isn't a total green pea anymore!! No hesitation at water, and under time...double clear!! Unfortunetly the missing link has turned into stadium for us. We are on the way to correcting it, but we took a few rails which knocked us from ending up in 2nd to ending in 8th. We're learning though, and I can't wait to see where this season takes us!!
Regal and I are heading to Ram Tap this weekend, fingers crossed!!
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